“An unforgiving and brutal experience that takes over the senses…”

With their first feature film Talk To Me, Australian directors Danny and Michael Philippou have solidified their position amongst the horror community and captured the attention of film lovers. The twins got their start on Youtube with their channel RackaRacka, known for its live action horror comedy videos which earned them numerous awards. Their directorial debut follows a group of friends who have discovered how to conjure spirits using an embalmed hand— an ability that’s first used as an entertaining party trick, but soon turns into something much darker. This gruesome film has stood out as one of this year’s best, featuring standout performances from Sophie Wilde and Joe Bird, and swiftly become A24’s highest grossing horror film at the North American box office, beating out Ari Aster’s Hereditary. 

The film opens on Cole (Ari McCarthy), who weaves through a crowded house party to find his brother, Duckett (Sunny Johnson). The camera tracking this frantic search thrusts the audience right into the action with an impressive one-shot, and the sound design further immerses the viewer into this world. It heightens the tension until Cole must kick down a door to get to his brother, only to find him severely injured and seemingly in a trance. As he tries to take him home, Cole is confronted by a sea of phone cameras, partygoers more interested in filming the entire affair than trying to help. The forward momentum created at the start comes to a screeching halt once Duckett suddenly stabs Cole, then himself. The shock of the beginning sequence sets the tone for the rest of the film and keeps the suspense constant. Hitchcock’s “bomb theory” explains the difference between “suspense” and “surprise” using a scenario in which the audience is either surprised by a bomb going off beneath a table with no prior warning versus creating audience participation by showing them the bomb prior to the explosion and adding a countdown, thus providing them with fifteen minutes of suspense instead of fifteen seconds of surprise. In the same way, opening the film with this sequence allows the anticipation to build for when the next bomb will finally go off.

As the film’s protagonist, Mia (Sophie Wilde) is introduced, she is grieving the second anniversary of her mother Rhea’s (Alexandria Steffensen) death, an event that isolated her from her father, Max (Marcus Johnson). Mia has made her own family— her best friend Jade (Alexandra Jensen), younger brother Riley (Joe Bird), and their mother Sue (Miranda Otto). When Jade doesn’t answer her phone, Mia gives Riley a ride home.  Much like the interaction with her father, this is another instance that subtly gives away the dynamics within these relationships without needing to state them outright or expand on them in depth, an aspect that makes the characters feel fully fleshed out. On the drive home, Mia and Riley encounter a fatally injured kangaroo in the middle of the road, bloody and groaning in pain— a horrible, blood-curdling sound. Despite Riley begging Mia to put the kangaroo out of its misery, Mia can’t bring herself to run it over, and instead leaves the poor animal there to die. The symbolism and foreshadowing in this scene is heavy-handed and cliché, but still effective.

Later that night, Mia, Jade, and Riley sneak out to meet up with Jade’s boyfriend, Daniel (Otis Dhanji) at a gathering hosted by Hayley (Zoe Terakes) and Joss (Chris Alosio), where the main attraction is a severed, embalmed hand that supposedly allows people to conjure spirits. Mia volunteers to go first, and the ritual begins, with one caveat: the connection must be severed within ninety seconds or else, “they’ll want to stay.” After being tied to a chair, a candle is lit to open the door to the other side, prompting Mia to grasp the hand and say, “talk to me.” This allows her to commune with the spirits, and is  by giving them permission to possess her with a simple, “I let you in.” Once Mia gets possessed, Wilde elevates her performance to a whole new level as she displays her talent and range as an actor. This is a feat that Bird also successfully takes on later in the film. It’s awesome to witness the scenes Wilde and Bird are in together, and this collision is highlighted further by the camera work that properly captures the action.

One of the film’s centerpieces is a montage of the group taking turns using the hand, accompanied by “La Foule” by Édith Piaf. Much like the song itself, this sequence is both haunting and beautiful. It’s a rush of adrenaline, it’s gleeful— until suddenly, it’s not anymore. This portrayal of flippancy, this display of voyeurism, is absolutely terrifying because of how accurate and timely it is, something that’s true of the entire film but captured perfectly here. Though a turn for the worst was inevitable, what happens next still comes as a shock.

Talk to Me is an unforgiving and brutal experience that takes over the senses, confronting people with their own crippling grief and their greatest fears without offering any comfort or catharsis. The ending is a plunge into the darkness with no way out, and the dread that’s left in its wake won’t be easily forgotten. Danny and Michael Philippou have proven themselves to be competent filmmakers with respect for the horror genre, notably shown in their use of gory practical effects, and the prospect of any future projects from them is an exciting one.

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Directors: Danny Philippou, Michael Philippou

Writers: Danny Philippou, Bill Hinzman

Story: Daley Pearson

Producers: Screen Australia, South Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund, Head Gear Films, Metrol Technology, Causeway Films

Cast: Sophie Wilde, Alexandra Jensen, Joe Bird, Otis Dhanji, Miranda Otto, Zoe Terakes, Chris Alosio, Marcus Johnson, Alexandria Steffensen

Editor: Geoff Lamb

Release Date: 30 October 2022 (Adelaide Film Festival), 27 July 2023 (Australia)